The Biotechnology Strategy and Action Plan is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The timeframe of the Action Plan is 3 years between 2015 and 2018. The overall goal of this Action Plan is to become more innovative and competitive in the health, agricultural and industrial biotechnologies through Research and Development and capacity enhancement. National Biotechnology Working Group will be established to stress on development of R&D and production technologies. Legal framework will be improved for access to genetic resources and benefit sharing and combatting bio-smuggling in order to conserve genetic resources and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources and associated benefits. Effective policies will be developed to protect intellectual property rights of biotechnological products. National Biodiversity Institute will be established to ensure conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Inventory will be made in the field of biotechnology to create data based sectoral policies and support mechanisms through official statistics. Studies will be carried out to increase the numbers of biomaterial and gene banks according to the need taking into account the biotechnological production potential. Clusters will be created in the fields of health, agricultural and industrial biotechnology. A database will be established to determine biodiversity elements that have potential to be used in biotechnological production and collect traditional knowledge regarding those elements. In addition to that, a public domain web portal will be created to enable access for all stakeholders. Private sector engaged in technology transfer and R&D in the fields of agricultural and industrial biotechnology will be encouraged. Capacity building will be enhanced to provide qualified staff for quality control and management of R&D and production processes. International cooperation will be strengthened to follow the latest developments regarding biotechnology. Thereby cooperation on training and research will be ensured with international research centers and universities. State support and incentives will be provided to develop health biotechnology. Biotechnological products such as drugs, vaccines, medicinal products will be certified in accordance with the EU and USA health standards. Investments will be encouraged for clinical research. The number of accredited analysis laboratories will be increased. A Bioethics Council will be established under the Ministry of Health to identify ethics principles in accordance with the international ethics standards and good practices. Trade of industrial biotechnological products that are resultant of R&D will be encouraged. Facilities will be built for increased production. Related regulations will be updated regarding development and commercialization of biological agent and plant protection products. Furthermore, the Biosafety Act will be updated in parallel with the latest requirements. A monitoring and inspection system will be established regarding imported genetically modified organisms and industrial products containing GMO. Controlled areas will be allocated to scientists for R&D studies on agricultural biotechnology. The Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology shall be responsible for monitoring the implementation of this Action Plan. A Steering Committee will be established under the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology to monitor, evaluate and revise the Biotechnology Strategy and Action Plan. The Steering Committee consists of the representatives of the relevant institutions and organizations and shall hold meetings every six months. Implementation, monitoring and evaluation reports will be submitted to the Steering Committee.
Türkiye · 2015-05-01